Police Alert over New Drug More Deadly than Heroin

The use of furanyl fentanyl, aka ‘Serial Killer’ or ‘Drop Dead’ as it so deadly that one can die just from touching it, is on the rise in the US.

For its lethality, furanyl fentanyl is known by the street name ‘Serial Killer’ or ‘Drop Dead.’ Photo : Radio-Canada/CBC

(Newswire.net -- May 9, 2017) -- The US police have issued a public safety alert over the drug that is so potent that can kill anyone who touches it. The warning was issued after the opioid had been associated with a number of deaths.

The drug has surfaced between 2015 and 2016 after the use of this highly addictive substance had been found in hundreds of drug-related deaths in the US.

The GBI issued an urgent public alert, warning people from using the drug, which can cause a fatal overdose just by being absorbed through the skin.

According to the statement from GBI, “U-47700 and furanyl fentanyl are both Schedule I drugs and used in the same manner as heroin.” The statement also said that there is no currently accepted medical treatement use in the US and that the drug is lethal even in smaller doses.

“The drugs are distributed in either powder or tablet form,” the GBI statement reads.

As both furanyl fentanyl and U-47700 are lethal at very low doses, the statement advises law enforcement officers to be extremely careful when handling these drugs. “They can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin and are extremely toxic in the smallest quantities,” the GBI said in a statement.

The authorities issued a warning after discovering that the lethal drug had been packed and shipped in packages of another, harmless drug. In a raid in January, police officers seized over 23lbs (10 kg) of the drug, packed in boxes labeled as Oxycodone.

“When I found out what I actually had, [I was] definitely a little scared because of the amount that was submitted. Anything could have happened, but luckily with the protective gear and the staff that I had, everything went OK,” Gwinnett County Deputy Shannon Volkadov said.

While touching Oxycodone is safe, “furanyl fentanyl could absolutely be fatal, just through the skin,” GBI Crime Lab chemist Dineen Kilcrease warned.

The use of furanyl fentanyl has been reporting an upward trend in the US, surpassing heroin. According to the state’s chief medical examiner, the drug caused 188 deaths last year in Connecticut alone.

Last November, the Drug Enforcement Agency assigned furanyl fentanyl to the Schedule I category.

For its lethality, the drug is known by the street name ‘Serial Killer’ or ‘Drop Dead.’